7th September 2011, 01:23 PM
The list is endless!
But here are a few.
'You never stop learning in archaeology'
'Approach each site with a fresh brain'
'Don't be biased by what others say or what you've read'
'Give an impression to the students of just how little we know about the past, rather than cling to old and new so-called facts'
But in a practical sense.
1) Understanding the formation processes are paramount. So discuss this (with evidence) on your context sheets. Its far more important to know how those pottery sherds got to where you found them than dating them! Samian pot in a pit don't make it a 'Roman pit'. And certainly doesn't make your site Roman!
2) If you don't know, write (on the context sheet) that you don't know
3) Archaeologists never (hardly ever) give a statement of errors. This is extremely important! It doesn't take much for those uncertain relationships to become etched in stone, and before you know it someone has written a synthesis of Iron Age Britain based on it!
But here are a few.
'You never stop learning in archaeology'
'Approach each site with a fresh brain'
'Don't be biased by what others say or what you've read'
'Give an impression to the students of just how little we know about the past, rather than cling to old and new so-called facts'
But in a practical sense.
1) Understanding the formation processes are paramount. So discuss this (with evidence) on your context sheets. Its far more important to know how those pottery sherds got to where you found them than dating them! Samian pot in a pit don't make it a 'Roman pit'. And certainly doesn't make your site Roman!
2) If you don't know, write (on the context sheet) that you don't know
3) Archaeologists never (hardly ever) give a statement of errors. This is extremely important! It doesn't take much for those uncertain relationships to become etched in stone, and before you know it someone has written a synthesis of Iron Age Britain based on it!